Khomeini's Boys

Khomeini's Boys
Release dates	1991 (1991)
Running time	40 minutes
Country	Denmark
Language	Persian

Khomeini's Boys is a Channel 4 documentary film centering on the lives of two friends and their families in Iran during the time of the Iran-Iraq War which spanned from 1980 to 1988. The film was made in Denmark by Iranian refugees who fled the country after the Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and rise to power of the Ayatollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Plot synopsis

The film opens with a queue of armed boys who have joined the Islamic Bassidj boarding a bus to take them to the battlefront of the Iran-Iraq War. Passing nearby are the film's main protagonists, Hassan and Iraj, two high school boys whose friendship is slowly starting to deteriorate, although they do not yet know it, due to the conflict between their opposing viewpoints in the purpose of the war: Iraj is in the Bassidj, while Hassan is reluctant to join, since his older brother, Abbas, is already fighting on the front. Iraj tries to strong-arm Hassan into joining: according to the film, official policy is to reward the families of the children lost in the war with items such as free fridges and supermarket coupons. Also, children in the Bassidj are to be given special privileges at school, such as higher marks and immunity from punishments: Iraj demonstrates this at one point in class when the teacher is about to fail him for not doing his homework, as he blackmails the teacher into passing him in exchange not going to the Islam office to complain.

The film also takes some liberties with government policy: it is obligatory for children to report counter-revolutionaries to the Islam office so that the counter-revolutionaries can be exterminated by the Revolutionary Guard. It is also now obligatory for children to join the Bassidj, or they and their families will suffer the consequences. To prove this, the P.E. teacher at school shows the students two dead bodies: one of a child who died in battle and whose body is clean and whose spirit "in Heaven"; and the other of a dirty, open-eyed child who was executed for refusing to join the Bassidj and is now suffering "in Hell".

Hassan fills his parents in on this, who are reluctant to let him join, since Abbas has already joined. Later, however, Abbas turns up at home on sick leave after his arm is injured by shrapnel shell. After enjoying a happy reunion with his brother, Hassan begins to tell Abbas about his intentions to join the Bassidj. Abbas opposes this, and tells Hassan that the whole war is pointless and stupid, along with all the preachings the Muslims give about going to Heaven with "special keys" if they fight on the front, and also reveals the true terror of the battle. Hassan changes his mind, and Abbas reveals his intention to flee from Iran with the help of some smugglers who will take him to Turkey, from where he will flee to Europe for a better future.

At school, Hassan and Iraj get into an argument about the war, and Hassan lets slip that Abbas told him what he believes. Iraj severs his ties with Hassan, but secretly reports Abbas to the Islamic Office. That night, the Revolutionary Guard turn up at Hassan's house to execute Abbas, but Abbas and Hassan's father sees them from outside, and orders Abbas to hide. Abbas narrowly escapes to a nearby garage unharmed. The next day, with the Guards waiting outside their house for Abbas' return, Abbas sends a note to Hassan, instructing him to bring him anything valuable until the smugglers arrive. Hassan does so with his family's help, and meets Abbas in a deserted piece of land. The smugglers arrive, and Abbas leaves with them, bidding his brother farewell until Khomeini is overthrown, and instructing him not to join the Bassidj no matter what.

Hassan confronts Iraj at school, but does not reveal that Abbas has left the country. Iraj insists that he did it to spare Hassan from any trouble. Later that day, after school, Iraj and the Revolutionary Guard arrive at Hassan's house, prepared to execute them all for aiding Abbas in escaping from Iran. Hassan offers to join the Bassidj in return for his family's safety, and Iraj accepts.

The film ends with Hassan and Iraj boarding a bus with another group of Bassidj soldiers, ready to go somewhere they will never return from.

External links

• KHOMEINI'S BOYS (1991) at BFI